Home automation: B One Hub functions as a single app for over 200 connected devices

You have just installed the latest smart home security camera at your new apartment which is lit up by app-controlled LED bulbs.

Enter B.One Hub, a future-ready device which functions as a single app for more than 200 connected devices within the modern smart home.

You have just installed the latest smart home security camera at your new apartment which is lit up by app-controlled LED bulbs. And perhaps you already have the air purifier and the home safe, both powered by smartphone apps. Your television set can also be controlled via the smartphone app. There are several more smart devices that you have picked up the way, all allowing you to remotely control how your home functions That’s when you realise that while you have turned your new apartment into a smart home, having an app for each device you own has perhaps not been a very smart idea.

Enter B.One Hub, a future-ready device which functions as a single app for more than 200 connected devices within the modern smart home. The Voice Act app, which can be downloaded from the internet, helps connect various devices, ensuring a more efficient and hassle-free life for you.

An app-based wireless system, the B.One Hub is powered by AI-based learning platform that learns the daily habits of its users and responds automatically. It has been developed by Blaze Automation, an IoT (Internet of Things) company that builds smart home automation and security products.

“It enables homeowners to control and automate security, ambience, and entertainment systems efficiently. The product is certified by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Industry Canada (IC) and is in the process of receiving certifications for Australia, New Zealand and Japan,” says Arjun Valluri, chairman of Blaze Automation. Blaze has already received seven patents for its products.

Valluri is responsible for the ideation and go-to-market strategy for Blaze and works on clean energy in technological evolution. He is also a strategic investor in many companies in food and beverages, BPOs, consumer electronics, power and infrastructure. “Our focus would be to provide futuristic features such as AI-based predictive learning for energy savings and voice-based control of a connected home,” he explains. “While there are a few products in the market which act as future proof of your home, our devices can control through IR radio protocols and are available at an affordable price of `15,000 as opposed to existing products sold at `2-3 lakh.”

The Indian smart home market is worth `8,800 crore and B.One Hub hopes to offer the most advanced and affordable device for home owners.

“We have already booked orders of over `260 crore in the international market. The B.One Hub has also been showcased at CES 2017, the world’s largest consumer electronics show,” Valluri says. Blaze Automation has integrated products of smart device manufacturers such as Amazon, Aeon Labs, Belkin, Cree, Fibaro, GE, Honeywell, Nest (by Google), Philips, Sonos and Yale in B.One Hub.

“Smart homes are the fundamental components of smart cities and Blaze Automation will aid the Indian government’s mission to build 100 smart cities. We want to become the world’s most widely used home automation and security hub, while helping home owners digitise their lifestyle and optimise energy savings. We also plan to expand to EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), South America and South East Asia,” he adds.

Typically, home automation products are not considered a necessity. The high initial installation cost acts as a barrier for their adoption. However, the increasing demand for smart phone-based apps for home automation, increase in consumer awareness about energy consuming products, technological advancement, convenience factor, rapid mobile connectivity, urbanisation are driving the growth of the home automation market.